What if the next Apple TV is a video game console?

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In Steve Jobs’ biography there’s a tantalizing hint that Apple’s next One Last Thing will be a Siri-controlled, integrated-with-iCloud-and-iTunes big-screen television set. This isn’t that outlandish when you think of the iMac all-in-one, or the Apple Thunderbolt Display, which only lacks an Apple A5 processor to turn it into a full-blown member of the iOS family. Couple this with indications that Apple is about to release the third iteration of Apple TV, and it’s easy to see why tech pundits are clutching their bits and bouncing around excitedly at the prospect of an “iTV.”

Now, the idea of telling your TV to “turn over” (with a grin if you’re watching those kinds of channels) is certainly attractive, and it might help an iTV succeed where Google TV has monumentally flopped — but really, this is missing the point. If Apple controls the entire experience, from the cloud (iTunes/iCloud), the display (iTV), the interface (iOS), and down to the peripherals (iPhone, iPad), then you could do a lot more than just provide an interactive TV — you could create a full-blown living room media center… or video games console.

Before you close this tab in a fit of rage, think about this for a moment: Mock up a mental image of the Xbox 360, and then simply start replacing each of its aspects with an Apple equivalent. The hardware would be easy — and in true, vertically-integrated, Apple fashion, it would sell the entire iTV caboodle as a single, very expensive display-cum-console. Software-wise, if you’ve seen an Apple TV in action, you’ll know that it already looks and feels a lot like the Xbox or PS3 home screens. Games — Apple TV is based on iOS; an iTV would be compatible with the thousands of games already in the App Store. Media-wise, with its close ties with iTunes and iCloud, Apple TV already excels at movies and TV shows (including YouTube!), photos, and music — and iTV would simply inherit that functionality. Finally, the gamepad: An iPhone would be the world’s most expensive controller, but Apple could let you use the Magic Trackpad instead, or perhaps make its own (one-button!) gamepad.

Two gaping caveats stand out, however: First, the A5, with its dual-core SGX543 GPU, is not capable of pushing polygons in anywhere approaching 1080p “console quality” (though the A6, coming next year, will help). Second, those thousands of iOS games are designed for touch-enabled small-screen devices, not 50-inch TVs. Neither of these issues are going away any time soon — but maybe it doesn’t matter. With a touch-enabled controller like the Magic Trackpad, games like Angry Birds translate very well to the big screen — if you need confirmation, try out iOS’s AirPlay feature, which just mirrors your iPhone or iPad display on a big-screen TV. The image quality might not be comparable to Crysis 2 on the Xbox 360 — but if the Wii proved anything it’s that the interface trumps jaggies, especially as far as humdrum consumers are concerned.

The most exciting thing about an Apple iTV, though, is that — in all likelihood — it will be a completely new product. We’ve shown that existing Apple technology could be leveraged to create a Frankenstein iTV, but that’s not how Apple does things. Instead, if Apple TV 3.0 turns out to be iTV, we’ll be looking at a) the most beautiful 50-inch TV you’ve ever seen, and b) a wondrous, touch-enabled gamepad that makes the Xbox and PS3 offerings look and feel like the NES Zapper. There’s also a cheaper (and more exciting) alternative: Apple could embed all of the necessary software and hardware in Apple TV 3.0 and simply let you plug it into your own big-screen TV; after all, it doesn’t matter which piece of hardware has Siri installed, nor does your white fondleslab gamepad care where it’s connected to.

Apple lives and dies on its monstrous hardware profit margins, though, so we’ll probably never see the cheaper version. You’ll be forced to spend $2,000 or so for a 50-inch iTV — a fair bit more than an Xbox, admittedly.

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Pascal Arcanus

Well, today everybody is talking about the possible release of the new XBox for the end of next year, so unless this “iTV” is really different from what you anticipate I don’t see it beeing an iPad like success.
– Even if the A6 power is equivalent to the X360/PS3 power, it will still just be equivalent to last generation / 5 years old consoles
– People who would actually like playing Angry Birds on a TV already have a Wii
– Apple doesn’t make better screens, they just make everything brighter so people’s pictures look better… I’m not sure anybody would like a TV like that.
– Unless it acts as a standalone iPad-like device with its own screen, no touch enabled controller is going to be better that what we already have today
– The programmed obsolescence a-la-apple works OK for phones, I’m not sure people will accept paying their TVs twice the price knowing they will have to change it in 2 years if they want the latest updates

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FAR5NEUM24W2QUBFKTFENODCLE JohnA

Sorry, but I highly doubt that this “iTV” will ever be successful as a game console, especially if the focus is more on common iOS games like Angry Birds. Why do I think this won’t work? Because I merely have to look at the Nintendo Wii as proof.

Nintendo may have sold a crap ton of consoles since it’s debut, but has anybody paid attention to the amount of software that’s sold with it? Not a lot. That’s because a lot of those console were bought by the casual gaming crowd, and mostly because it was the next big “thing” to have in 2006. Casual gamers don’t buy a lot of games. Least of all the types of games that offer any kind of substantial content. Wii Party is perfectly fine, but has anybody in the casual gaming group bought Twilight Princess, No More Heroes, or even Fire Emblem? Nope. Those titles, which sell well, were bought by the core gaming crowd. Actual gamers who have been playing games for years, and are a dedicated subculture by itself.

So what’s does this have to do with Apple? Well, because of the iPhone, and it great app selection, casual gamers now had another, more intuitive device to play simple, quick titles that didn’t cost $30 to $50 to play. Why buy an expensive disc-based Wii game that needs a TV to play, when you could buy Angry Birds for $5 and use it on a small device anywhere you go? The gameplay is as simple as other Wii titles, but much cheaper and in a much more mobile form factor. But even then, casual gamers don’t buy a lot of iOS games. That is still reserved for the core gaming crowd. For this reason, the casual crowd will never buy a Wii U. Why would they? They have an iPhone.

Apple in the beginning may sell a lot of iTVs, but nobody is going to buy games for it. Core gamers will determine whether a gaming console will be successful or not, and they’ll flock to more substantial machines that has titles like Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Forza, Skyrim, and others. They’re not going to buy a bunch of Tower Defense clones on a $300 – $500 machine.

Anonymous

There is no doubt that Apple TV will eventually become a game console with an iOS App Store for the device. It’s a question of when and I expect it will be soon. However, I don’t think the Wii, Playstation or Xbox is in jeopardy anytime soon.

As the owner of a PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii, I am not interested in this at all.

Marc Guillot Puig

I like convergence.

But not in AppleTV form. I prefer a very powerful smartphone with docks and HDMI/USB connectors that can transform to a netbook, a desktop computer, an HTPC media viewer and a game console that I can carry wherever I go.

All your IT needs always in your pocket :)

Vlad Tepes

Ya, I can really see this apple tv taking off, hell, who wouldn’t be willing to throw out their existing 50 inch tv to buy one of these?

Anonymous

I know microsoft is just a butchered version of apple.

Why didn’t they come out with a console, they should have come out with a console back when microsoft announced the release of xbox.

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